St. Lawrence County 601 



extensive business in the town of Parishville. Instead of the 

 customary one or two cows, he kept for breeding purposes a herd 

 of forty. He was also the owner and proprietor of a hotel which 

 he supplied with butter and cheese produced in Germany. After 

 a series of unsuccessful experiments in the manufacture of butter 

 and cheese, he persuaded William Abrams and his wife, who were 

 the grandparents of Assemblyman E. A. Everett of Potsdam, to 

 undertake the management of his dairy and the manufacture of 

 butter. This was the first instance in the county where butter 

 was produced in quantities. 



Grains were formerly raised for sale, but are now consumed 

 in dairying, which occupies a leading place in the agriculture of 

 the county. 



The change from the production of butter to the sale of whole 

 milk has resulted in a great lessening of the pork produced within 

 the last twenty years. Live stock and veal are sold from all 

 except the lumbering towns. Eggs and poultry are produced in 

 the same towns. Turkeys, which are raised in practically every 

 town having access to railroads, are of particular importance in 

 the towns of Lisbon, Madrid, Oswegatchie, and De Peyster. 



Lumbering was of great importance at the beginning of the 

 nineteenth century. Forty years later, on the completion of the 

 northern railroad, lumbering received a new impulse and an 

 increased value was given to the immense forests covering the 

 southern part of the county. A large section, embracing portions 

 of the towns of Pitcairn, Russell, Fine, Clifton, Clare, Colton, 

 and Hopkinton, is still a wilderness. This section of the county, 

 covering approximately 900 square miles, is locally known as the 

 " South Woods " and is a part of the great wilderness of northern 

 New York. It is a famous locality for fishing and hunting. 



Mining is of importance in some localities, notably, the Benson 

 iron mines in the town of Clifton and the zinc mine in the town 

 of Edwards. In the western part, principally in the towns of 

 Fowler and Edwards, talc is extensively produced. 



The Northern New York Utilities Company, which furnishes 

 light and power for northern New York, is located in the town 

 of Edwards. 



